MIAMI — Dwyane Wade strode to the podium with a smile, and without a limp.

"Six media days," he joked. "Wow. I'm getting old."

Yet much is new for the 26-year-old as his team's 2008 training camp begins. Body repaired. Confidence restored. Outlook refreshed.

Role reshaped.

"I'm the leader," Wade said.

No longer is that in dispute. Not with Shaquille O'Neal in the desert, Erik Spoelstra in Pat Riley's place, Alonzo Mourning inactive for a while if not forever. Wade's young coach needs a partner. Wade's young team needs a guide.

Nor is there any question about which Heat player most needs Wade's guidance, and where he should direct most of his attention. That player arrived for his round of interviews crooning Britney Spears' classic Hit Me Baby One More Time, then kept the comedy hits coming throughout the afternoon. That player is the one who, all kidding aside, must quickly develop into a mature player and teammate, someone Wade would not even think to leave upon his contract's expiration in 2010.

That player is Michael Beasley.

That is what these next two seasons are mostly about:

NBA teams generally struggle to win anything significant without two compatible stars. So how will Wade and Beasley connect? Will Beasley, the singular focus at other levels, learn to defer to Wade? Will Wade enjoy playing with Beasley?

"We played a couple of pickup games," Beasley said. "Been on the same team. I must say, we do not lose a lot. I think we play good together. I just sit back and sometimes just find myself watching, being a spectator, because he's amazing."

It's more important that Beasley finds himself listening. To Spoelstra, who will limit his minutes unless he defends. To Riley, who still casts a shadow. To Udonis Haslem, with whom Beasley has established "a big brother, little brother" relationship. Mostly, to Wade. With the futures of Haslem and Shawn Marion in doubt, it will likely fall upon Wade and Beasley to lead the Heat into the century's second decade. It falls mostly to Wade in this one.

So Wade must show Beasley how to be a pro. Wade sounded ready to embrace a leadership role in the summer of 2007, but his physical limitations and O'Neal's distracting presence undermined that intention. He is healthy. O'Neal is gone. It is time. Wade also benefited from collaborating and commiserating with other leaders of NBA teams during the Beijing Olympics, from Jason Kidd to LeBron James. Upon his return, he feels the young players, who know his resume, absorbing all he says.

"So I can feel the difference that way," Wade said. "You just become one. Already, I've let my voice be heard."

That has meant organizing late-night scrimmages at the gym. That has meant running a team meeting, where he told each player to carry a chip on his shoulder, even if that player didn't experience the Heat horror of 2007-08. At that meeting, where Beasley and Mario Chalmers apologized for their incident at the NBA's rookie orientation program, Wade also delivered the message that they would solve all team issues in this "face-to-face" way, "without anyone getting sensitive when their name is brought up."

"When I grew up in Chicago, and you gave me an opportunity and a choice to say, one day you will be the leader of a franchise in the NBA, would you take this or leave it, I would take it," Wade said.

Friday, he showed subtle signs of taking charge, such as referring to Chalmers as "my rookie point guard."

The other rookie, Beasley, has wowed Wade with his natural scoring prowess.

"His challenge is how can he make other people better," Wade said. "And I have already challenged him to that."

Spoelstra empowered him to do all this?

"Yes, sir," Wade said.

Those are two words Beasley would be wise to use this season, in response to what the Heat leader suggests.